Individuals often find enjoyment in the challenge of building aesthetic structural designs and/or functional structural models. Frequently, the utility associated with constructing such structures is found in the creative and/or problem solving process required to achieve a desired structural objective. Currently, construction assemblies that exploit magnetic properties to interlink various structural components and thereby form different two and/or three dimensional structures are known and can provide an added dimension of sophistication to the construction process. For example, the magnetic construction toy disclosed by Balanchi in U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,727, the modular assemblies disclosed by Vicentielli in U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,992, and the magnetic puzzle/toy disclosed by Smith in U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,262. A significant shortcoming associated with conventional magnetic construction assemblies, such as those disclosed in the aforementioned patents, involves inherently restrictive and at times penalizing design alternatives provided thereby. It is often the case that these traditional magnetic construction assemblies have only a limited number of component parts, which parts typically have constrained geometries to ensure effective and suitably stable or secure connections. Thus, despite efforts to date, a need remains for a magnetic construction kit that provides greater construction flexibility and/or design choice. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide a magnetic construction kit that is suitable for movement thereby providing an additional degree of design/construction sophistication.
These and other needs/objectives are addressed by the present invention. Additional advantageous features and functionalities of the present invention will be apparent from the disclosure which follows, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.